Garden thread
Replies
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I bought some metal mesh trashcans from the dollar store (actually $1) and put them over my strawberries - we’ll see how it goes!Planting peas today. I planted 4 slices of tomato and 2 of them have sprouted so many of the seeds!! I have lots of marigolds growing. But my pepper seeds and spaghetti squash seeds are doing nada. I planted kale seeds but we'll see how those do. My sister gave them to me and they're a few years old.
Still waiting another month before planting cucumbers, green beans and sunflowers. My strawberries seem to have survived the winter, now to protect them from the birds who like to take a nip out of each one. 
My local go-to nursery is reopening for the season tomorrow. I hope. I usually wait and go Memorial Day weekend but might have to go at another time to avoid any rush.
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Can I ask for advice? I grow shoots on the balcony for microgreens. This is the first time I try lidded germinatation so covering up compost trays with roasting tins for darkness and warmth. The right hand side are soaked marrowfat peas sold for cooking sown a week ago. Left hand side are popcorn kernels. Should I leave the lids on a little longer? Or is it time to remove the one on the pea shoots already?
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Can I ask for advice? I grow shoots on the balcony for microgreens. This is the first time I try lidded germinatation so covering up compost trays with roasting tins for darkness and warmth. The right hand side are soaked marrowfat peas sold for cooking sown a week ago. Left hand side are popcorn kernels. Should I leave the lids on a little longer? Or is it time to remove the one on the pea shoots already?
(snip photo)
Since no one else has replied yet: If most are germinated, and the weather's warm enough not to kill them, I'd uncover them (unless you want them to blanch white). I'd consider the warmth most helpful for germination (though I think both peas and corn tend to have relatively lower minimum germination temps than a lot of things), plus light desirable for growth/greening. If they've been 100% covered, and are outside, you might need to harden them off by uncovering for a while (not at peak midday sun, but some; during semi-warmer part of the day), then recovering when strong sun or cold, for a couple/few days so as not to shock them with a big change.
Admission: I don't know anything about microgreens. The above would be a normal thing to do with regular seedlings that have been growing with protection, such as indoors being moved outdoors, or under row covers/cloches being uncovered.1 -
Beds need much more grooming, but the perennial/Winter-hardy herbs are starting to sprout a bit. The . . . um . . . enthusiastically spreading oregano is reaching the point where I could even snip a bit, even though it's tiny. (There's also about a 6" sprout of lovage up in the upper right corner. The star-shaped foliage is an ornametal Allium - same genus as onion, garlic, shallots, and chives, but not culinary.)
The mint is just barely coming up, in its mint-jail (isolated from other planting areas, in a discourage-it amount of shade . . . mint = invader).
BTW, the mint's solitary confinement is a home-made hypertufa trough. As a size gauge, that one was molded with a plastic dishpan. I've made other shapes, and most have been pretty Winter-tolerant. I like 'em.
I whacked back the Winter-beaten sage plant a week or so ago, so it's not doing much, and the culinary thyme looks very dispirited still. (Some of the ornamental thyme growing in crevices of the paver walkway is looking pretty good, but it's not a very tasty variety.) These grow in a bed a couple of feet wide and quite long, that's behind my house. There's a patio/deck bit, then the sidewalk, then the narrow bed with rock slabs on its outer edge. Mostly ornamentals, but a few herbs.3 -
haven't gotten around to actual gardening but watching the perennials do their thing
the grass came back with a vengeance so i will need to clear these guys out
blackberry plant is leafing
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My seedlings that I started indoors are getting good doses of rain and occasional sunlight (quite cloudy lately, but a couple days had some peek through). I bring them back in at night. They were looking pretty puny so I added some worm compost to the ones that had leaves coming out and am getting them outdoors, they are perking up with better color overall... hopefully they make it! I have never had good luck starting my own seeds, but so far this year is shaping up to be my best attempt. Like I said, each year I learn... what NOT to do
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@mbaker566 I have those little purple flowers in my yard as well! Had never seen them before we moved here...1
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Hi all
I am just starting back on MFP and was thrilled to see a gardening thread so I wanted to say hello and introduce myself.
I have a bunch of kale going to seed in the garden from last summer’s garden that are covered in yellow blossoms. I enjoy the flowers but particularly enjoy watching the birds eat the seeds. Normally they drop enough that I get a new crop of kale every year.
I have asparagus coming up now and lettuce in the garden. I started what is way too many seedlings (as usual). So I have cucumbers, squash and tomatoe plants in pots that go go every day and back in at night. It is still a bit too cold to plant them in the garden.
Looking forward to sharing gardening stories and info with you all
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Beds need much more grooming, but the perennial/Winter-hardy herbs are starting to sprout a bit. The . . . um . . . enthusiastically spreading oregano is reaching the point where I could even snip a bit, even though it's tiny. (There's also about a 6" sprout of lovage up in the upper right corner. The star-shaped foliage is an ornametal Allium - same genus as onion, garlic, shallots, and chives, but not culinary.)
The mint is just barely coming up, in its mint-jail (isolated from other planting areas, in a discourage-it amount of shade . . . mint = invader).
BTW, the mint's solitary confinement is a home-made hypertufa trough. As a size gauge, that one was molded with a plastic dishpan. I've made other shapes, and most have been pretty Winter-tolerant. I like 'em.
I whacked back the Winter-beaten sage plant a week or so ago, so it's not doing much, and the culinary thyme looks very dispirited still. (Some of the ornamental thyme growing in crevices of the paver walkway is looking pretty good, but it's not a very tasty variety.) These grow in a bed a couple of feet wide and quite long, that's behind my house. There's a patio/deck bit, then the sidewalk, then the narrow bed with rock slabs on its outer edge. Mostly ornamentals, but a few herbs.
My man herb bed looks a lot like yours. I gotta take my kneeling mat out there and just get on with it. I was even thinking of trying to get some weed block back down there and mulch it maybe.
And it's too late for my garden and the mint, it's everywhere. Healthy though, lot of mint tisane I think.
Also my "rocket salad" flowered real fast. I guess I'll let it do its thing.
Oh and question - I planted garlic late last year and it's grown but the stems seem really spindly. When should harvest happen?2 -
MelanieCN77 wrote: »Beds need much more grooming, but the perennial/Winter-hardy herbs are starting to sprout a bit. The . . . um . . . enthusiastically spreading oregano is reaching the point where I could even snip a bit, even though it's tiny. (There's also about a 6" sprout of lovage up in the upper right corner. The star-shaped foliage is an ornametal Allium - same genus as onion, garlic, shallots, and chives, but not culinary.)
The mint is just barely coming up, in its mint-jail (isolated from other planting areas, in a discourage-it amount of shade . . . mint = invader).
BTW, the mint's solitary confinement is a home-made hypertufa trough. As a size gauge, that one was molded with a plastic dishpan. I've made other shapes, and most have been pretty Winter-tolerant. I like 'em.
I whacked back the Winter-beaten sage plant a week or so ago, so it's not doing much, and the culinary thyme looks very dispirited still. (Some of the ornamental thyme growing in crevices of the paver walkway is looking pretty good, but it's not a very tasty variety.) These grow in a bed a couple of feet wide and quite long, that's behind my house. There's a patio/deck bit, then the sidewalk, then the narrow bed with rock slabs on its outer edge. Mostly ornamentals, but a few herbs.
My man herb bed looks a lot like yours. I gotta take my kneeling mat out there and just get on with it. I was even thinking of trying to get some weed block back down there and mulch it maybe.
And it's too late for my garden and the mint, it's everywhere. Healthy though, lot of mint tisane I think.
(snip healthy mint photo )
Also my "rocket salad" flowered real fast. I guess I'll let it do its thing.
Oh and question - I planted garlic late last year and it's grown but the stems seem really spindly. When should harvest happen?
We just dug garlic when the tops started to yellow and flop over a little, FWIW.1 -
Beds need much more grooming, but the perennial/Winter-hardy herbs are starting to sprout a bit. The . . . um . . . enthusiastically spreading oregano is reaching the point where I could even snip a bit, even though it's tiny. (There's also about a 6" sprout of lovage up in the upper right corner. The star-shaped foliage is an ornametal Allium - same genus as onion, garlic, shallots, and chives, but not culinary.)
The mint is just barely coming up, in its mint-jail (isolated from other planting areas, in a discourage-it amount of shade . . . mint = invader).
BTW, the mint's solitary confinement is a home-made hypertufa trough. As a size gauge, that one was molded with a plastic dishpan. I've made other shapes, and most have been pretty Winter-tolerant. I like 'em.
I whacked back the Winter-beaten sage plant a week or so ago, so it's not doing much, and the culinary thyme looks very dispirited still. (Some of the ornamental thyme growing in crevices of the paver walkway is looking pretty good, but it's not a very tasty variety.) These grow in a bed a couple of feet wide and quite long, that's behind my house. There's a patio/deck bit, then the sidewalk, then the narrow bed with rock slabs on its outer edge. Mostly ornamentals, but a few herbs.
I've already accidentally killed all the melons I tried to plant but my goodness I could use a mint jail. I can't believe how far it has traveled. I ripped up a bunch of it today and threw it in an area that tends to have a lot of poison ivy. I figured they can fight it out for turf. 2 -
I made the “mint mistake” years ago at our house in NC!Beds need much more grooming, but the perennial/Winter-hardy herbs are starting to sprout a bit. The . . . um . . . enthusiastically spreading oregano is reaching the point where I could even snip a bit, even though it's tiny. (There's also about a 6" sprout of lovage up in the upper right corner. The star-shaped foliage is an ornametal Allium - same genus as onion, garlic, shallots, and chives, but not culinary.)
The mint is just barely coming up, in its mint-jail (isolated from other planting areas, in a discourage-it amount of shade . . . mint = invader).
BTW, the mint's solitary confinement is a home-made hypertufa trough. As a size gauge, that one was molded with a plastic dishpan. I've made other shapes, and most have been pretty Winter-tolerant. I like 'em.
I whacked back the Winter-beaten sage plant a week or so ago, so it's not doing much, and the culinary thyme looks very dispirited still. (Some of the ornamental thyme growing in crevices of the paver walkway is looking pretty good, but it's not a very tasty variety.) These grow in a bed a couple of feet wide and quite long, that's behind my house. There's a patio/deck bit, then the sidewalk, then the narrow bed with rock slabs on its outer edge. Mostly ornamentals, but a few herbs.
I've already accidentally killed all the melons I tried to plant but my goodness I could use a mint jail. I can't believe how far it has traveled. I ripped up a bunch of it today and threw it in an area that tends to have a lot of poison ivy. I figured they can fight it out for turf. i was advised to contain it, my young mind thought planting it in a corner of a garden bed with cinderblock on a couple sides (retaining wall) would be good enough. Sorely mistaken. Eventually the crab grass snuffed our most of it, but that’s an entirely different beast to contend with! 3 -
I hear y'all with the mint-invader stories! I made the mistake at a past residence, too.
This time:
1. It's in the trough.
2. The trough sits under an evergreen (too shady for the mint's best preferences, so it's enervated
).
3. The (big) evergreen grows in a small soil island, surrounded on all sides by asphalt** that comprises my driveway/sidewalk.
So, it's in jail, starved of needful resources, and surrounded by an infertile moat. I think my yard is safe. And I still get enough mint for my purposes.
** Yeah, that's weird. The former owner was from one of the big asphalt-contractor families around here; he owned this house when he was a young, non-prosperous junior scion. But man, is there a lot of asphalt! 2 -
Yeah, mint is aggressive. I'm only growing it in my herb cart.1
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My blueberries are doing surprisingly well (they are in pots, although larger pots, so I wasn't sure if they would make it through the winter). My strawberries are looking okay but don't seem to have grown much in the past week. (The past few days have been extremely rainy, with some sun today.) New flowers are sprouting in pots, perennials are coming up, herbs are good, spring veg don't seem to be growing fast currently. Hydrangea in a pot is still not recovering from the snow and did not like the huge amounts of rain -- I might try replanting it in the ground, as I have a spot for it.4
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my hydrangeas are slowly starting to bud.
apple trees are starting to leaf
some roses are budding, my rose shrub is leafing
hyacinth are in full bloom
hoping to do the seeds and cultivating this weekend1 -
My blueberries are doing surprisingly well (they are in pots, although larger pots, so I wasn't sure if they would make it through the winter). My strawberries are looking okay but don't seem to have grown much in the past week. (The past few days have been extremely rainy, with some sun today.) New flowers are sprouting in pots, perennials are coming up, herbs are good, spring veg don't seem to be growing fast currently. Hydrangea in a pot is still not recovering from the snow and did not like the huge amounts of rain -- I might try replanting it in the ground, as I have a spot for it.
Do you do anything special for your blueberries? I bought mine last summer and it's in a large pot, it looks a lot better this spring but I haven't given it any fertilizer yet.
Getting my herbs today, I'm excited! I was waiting until quarantine was over but it's going on for another month. Heard the nursery is a zoo but I really want basil and parsley to add to my herb garden. Tomatoes are still small and stevia is growing incredibly slow.0 -
I get my herbs and seedlings from a local lady and was just voicing out loud that I wondered if she would have them this year since the farmer’s mkt wasn’t open (yet, I hope eventually maybe)... and she sent out an email last night that she has them starting this week! Yay!My blueberries are doing surprisingly well (they are in pots, although larger pots, so I wasn't sure if they would make it through the winter). My strawberries are looking okay but don't seem to have grown much in the past week. (The past few days have been extremely rainy, with some sun today.) New flowers are sprouting in pots, perennials are coming up, herbs are good, spring veg don't seem to be growing fast currently. Hydrangea in a pot is still not recovering from the snow and did not like the huge amounts of rain -- I might try replanting it in the ground, as I have a spot for it.
Do you do anything special for your blueberries? I bought mine last summer and it's in a large pot, it looks a lot better this spring but I haven't given it any fertilizer yet.
Getting my herbs today, I'm excited! I was waiting until quarantine was over but it's going on for another month. Heard the nursery is a zoo but I really want basil and parsley to add to my herb garden. Tomatoes are still small and stevia is growing incredibly slow.
Our local Tractor Supply has some stuff in and wasn’t crazy busy at all... not supporting local, but might be an option for people. Although, some of the plants were pretty rough looking.
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I planted an oak leaf hydrangea his winter, $7 clearanced perennials (whoop whoop! Got it and a few butterfly bushes), wasn’t sure if it would come back or not since I normally have horrible luck with them... and it did! I am so excited!1
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My blueberries are doing surprisingly well (they are in pots, although larger pots, so I wasn't sure if they would make it through the winter). My strawberries are looking okay but don't seem to have grown much in the past week. (The past few days have been extremely rainy, with some sun today.) New flowers are sprouting in pots, perennials are coming up, herbs are good, spring veg don't seem to be growing fast currently. Hydrangea in a pot is still not recovering from the snow and did not like the huge amounts of rain -- I might try replanting it in the ground, as I have a spot for it.
Do you do anything special for your blueberries? I bought mine last summer and it's in a large pot, it looks a lot better this spring but I haven't given it any fertilizer yet.
Getting my herbs today, I'm excited! I was waiting until quarantine was over but it's going on for another month. Heard the nursery is a zoo but I really want basil and parsley to add to my herb garden. Tomatoes are still small and stevia is growing incredibly slow.
I haven't. May research whether I should. This is only my second year with them also. I'm planning to add blackberries this summer.
My most local garden store is doing delivery, and I am getting tomatoes and peppers when ready (they deliver seedlings), although a fabulous longstanding nearby garden store is opening on Monday so I may cheat and go over there next week.
I need to build a second raised bed, which is in my plans for this weekend.1 -
weatherking2019 wrote: »20s and snowing. We'll see what this does to my plants. (I took my two big containers of flowers that I had out in front for Easter and which I knew were a little early inside, hopefully soon enough, and am hoping everything else will be okay.)
I woke up to the white stuff on the ground too. (Cleveland-6) I planted some lettuce, kale, chard and even after covering it up last night, it looked "frozen". Does this mean they're going die??
I really wish it warms up. Looking at more cold days ahead. 😔
A note for inexperienced gardeners - even super hardy plants like kale, if they came from a grower's greenhouse, should be "hardened off" or otherwise protected in April.Not necessarily. Sometimes things shrink back (wilt, kinda) as part of their defense mechanism, but will recover. WIll need to wait and see. Kale, in particular, tends to be pretty darned tough.
I don't veggie garden anymore (did for years), but still have flowers. When I post flower photos on FB in early Spring, it's a common thing for friends to say "Oh, but that's gonna get killed by tomorrow's frost/hail/snow/sleet/other Michigan Spring weirdness".
My usual response is "Nah, those plants know what they're doing". And nearly all the time, they do. Some of the veggies are a little more marginal in Northern climates, so they may be more vulnerable. But I'd predict some will be fine, maybe even most/all.
If you had snow, it was WAY too early for tomatoesweatherking2019 wrote: »I brought in the tomatoes in pots, lettuce that was not yet in ground into the garage last night. Thank god, cuz there was 4,5 inches of snow this morning!!! The others have to stay tough out there... I did cover with sheets last night. Either way, I'm so over with this. 1 -
You all are an inspiration and just being here is helping me to learn and do more!
I have a question...
First of all I just bought my first sprouted plants - cherry tomatoes and jalapenos. I bought three types of herb seeds - lavender, parsley, rosemary plus I bought bell pepper seeds.
Here's the question: have you ever bought a piece of fruit or a vegetable from the store and were successful in planting the fruit's seed to watch it grow? I can't plant an apple tree in my tiny backyard. But even if you did, I'd love to hear about it. I'm looking for something that doesn't take up much room. Thank you!0 -
May 1 and I already spent some $$$ for this month’s budget... broke down and bought bags of soil from Tractor Supply, i have been trying to get some from Costco since the first hit from COVID and just didn’t get there (I tried during one of the first days of chaos - I hauled a trailer there and noped out pretty quick when the parking lot was full with cars backed up for a couple stop lights).
Also was able to get my annual restocking of seedlings from a local farm, $80 lighter, but some things I either wasn’t successful starting (my onion seeds were total duds, not a single one sprouted), or i just don’t have seeds for them (a couple flower varieties). Hoping to get stuff planted in my newly made rock flower bed! I am excited to add more lavender plants to my yard! Also bought 3 types of mint (for the pots!), bee balm, lemon balm, variegated sage (because I am a sucker for anything variegated!), echinacea, broccoli, and a few other things... oh, and a yellow pear tomato for my son to grow for fun.0 -
Fruit seeds such as apples tend not to do well because many times they are hybrid or grafted so the offspring from that seed won’t be the same as the apple you ate. Could be a fun experiment though. They do sell dwarf fruit varieties that might be worth looking into. Or check out espalier (I think that’s spelled right).You all are an inspiration and just being here is helping me to learn and do more!
I have a question...
First of all I just bought my first sprouted plants - cherry tomatoes and jalapenos. I bought three types of herb seeds - lavender, parsley, rosemary plus I bought bell pepper seeds.
Here's the question: have you ever bought a piece of fruit or a vegetable from the store and were successful in planting the fruit's seed to watch it grow? I can't plant an apple tree in my tiny backyard. But even if you did, I'd love to hear about it. I'm looking for something that doesn't take up much room. Thank you!
Standard veggies from the grocery store are bred for their durability and stability, most times lacking the depth of flavor that heirloom plants offer.1 -
moonangel12 wrote: »
Fruit seeds such as apples tend not to do well because many times they are hybrid or grafted so the offspring from that seed won’t be the same as the apple you ate. Could be a fun experiment though. They do sell dwarf fruit varieties that might be worth looking into. Or check out espalier (I think that’s spelled right).You all are an inspiration and just being here is helping me to learn and do more!
I have a question...
First of all I just bought my first sprouted plants - cherry tomatoes and jalapenos. I bought three types of herb seeds - lavender, parsley, rosemary plus I bought bell pepper seeds.
Here's the question: have you ever bought a piece of fruit or a vegetable from the store and were successful in planting the fruit's seed to watch it grow? I can't plant an apple tree in my tiny backyard. But even if you did, I'd love to hear about it. I'm looking for something that doesn't take up much room. Thank you!
Standard veggies from the grocery store are bred for their durability and stability, most times lacking the depth of flavor that heirloom plants offer.
And store veggie types are often hybrids, too, so don't come true to seed. It's a crapshoot. Also, the commercial hybrids are often bred to favor ripening all at once (or close) for efficient harvesting, which is the exact opposite of what the typical home gardener wants (unless planting mainly to can/freeze).
Red raspberries are pretty easy to grow, IME, spread-y, but you can keep them beaten back and get a meaningful amount of raspberries from a fairly small space.2 -
@moonangel12 and @AnnPT77 Thank you...0
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I went to my local garden center this morning. I WAS going to pick up a couple of perennials and compost but ended up picking up my entire planting list. I am still filling in my perennial garden so I bought a hummingbird mint, penstemon, and a wintergreen plant for a shady corner.
I am going to try potatoes this year. I cut the bottom out of a 27 gallon plastic tote and will grow them in that set on top of the actual garden. The seed potatoes were a total of $1 for a bag of 7 (I have space for 6) so if I yield 1 lb or more I will have saved money.2 -
This is how I planted my rosemary today...I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm reading tips and advice from gardening bloggers. I planted one seed in the pot and my husband asked why just one and I stated that the package of seeds said they should be 36 inches apart. This will be an experiment. The other object is a cut up egg carton.
This is my jalapeno pepper on the left and cherry tomato plant on the right. I live in Texas and it's a scorcher already. I think they'll do well in this heat, well at least the jalapenos will.
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This is how I planted my rosemary today...I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm reading tips and advice from gardening bloggers. I planted one seed in the pot and my husband asked why just one and I stated that the package of seeds said they should be 36 inches apart. This will be an experiment. The other object is a cut up egg carton.
(snip for length)
Depending on variety, rosemary can be a big plant to a small shrub kind of size, when it grows up, if happy. You probably know it's perennial . . . again, if it's happy. Not sure where you are in TX, but here in Michigan, it's not Winter hardy (we're 5b, I think rosemary maybe needs zone 9?) If your one in the big pot doesn't germinate, presumably you can pot up one of the little guys. It will be a while before it actually needs a big pot.
I keep mine in a pot, and bring it indoors every Winter, which it doesn't much like, so it doesn't get really big or bushy (not enough sun), but I've had it for (mumble) years now. It's around 18" tall in a 10" pot, but will grow a bit in Summer. i don't have a lot of luck with trailing types in pots (root rot), but the upright varieties do better for me. Probably, this has to do with my being . . . free-spirited, shall we say? . . . about Winter watering schedules. Good drainage seems important, but then I have to remember to water the dang thing on the reg.
Betting you'll do better, with a warmer climate. 1 -
I hit the garden center today too, no parking in the lot and I was about the 60th person in line but at least it moved fast! I definitely got more than planned and spent more buying their brand potting soil, already ran out and I need to repot my older herbs and Fresno pepper, Red Beauty, and Armenian cucumbers. Herbs are my weakness, I bought berries and cream mint, variegated sage ( @moonangel12 me too!) , two mixed basil varieties, Thai basil, Opal basil, Mrs. Burns lemon basil, Genovese, Large Leaf, sweet basil, and Mexican oregano. Still need parsley and dill but they didn't have it. I'm going to see if any of the hardware stores are doing curbside for the potting soil and a few other things I need.
Have a great weekend gardening, the weather here is perfect for it!0
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